Cabot `Wall' Vents Racial Tension

As colleges across the country grapple with the issue of race on campus, Cabot House offers its residents a means of expressing their concerns.

"The Wall," a written forum for student opinions, was instituted last week in the basement of Cabot House in response to student apprehension about the aftermath of last spring's Los Angeles riots.

Although Cabot residents have used the forum to discuss a variety of topics, students have been most outspoken about racial issues. The Wall consists of two swaths of paper taped to two walls in entryway A.

"The wall gives students the chance to vent, but it sometimes makes people uncomfortable to know what other people's opinions are," said Andrea N. Thomas '95, an African-American resident of Cabot. "Even worse, some people take an individual's comments to represent that individual's entire ethnic group."

North House had instituted a similar forum last year, but because of numerous personal attacks, the dorm discontinued the project.

According to a memo written by Cabot House Masters Sandra A. Naddaff, associate professor of literature, and Leigh G. Hafrey, lecturer at the Business School, wall users must follow two guidelines. The letter, posted next to the wall, states that students must "sign and date any contribution [they] make" and must respect their fellow students' opinions.

Among the many concerns voiced by students on the issue of race was self-segregation.

Wrote Ajit V. Pai '94, minority students too often times segregate themselves from the larger Harvard community, which may hurt attempts toward racial harmony.

"I think the real problem is that a lot of people at Harvard and, of course, in Cabot House, have started voluntary segregation from activities or dinner or whatever," wrote the Asian-American student. "All ethnic groups at Harvard should make the effort to `extend' themselves."

Felicia J. Rector '94, an African-American resident of Cabot, tackled the issue of affirmative action when she wrote, "Affirmative action is not about placing `unqualified' people in positions they can't handle, but giving them access to that which was denied or would be denied to them normally."

While residents interviewed yesterday said they liked the concept of The Wall, they voiced concern about the future of the open forum.

"I'm wondering if it is going to get nasty, as it did in North House last year," Thomas said. "There are a lot of minority students here [in Cabot House], but there are also a lot of people from the Peninsula staff."

Thomas also characterized the racial tensions at Cabot as "worse than other places" on College campus because of the house's ethnic diversity.

But Pai said The Wall has been successful in making students more aware of various perspectives regarding race.

"It's surprising to find what other viewpoints are." said Pai. "We can see what the arguments are on both sides, allowing everybody to make up their own minds. Before, there was tension because nobody was talking."